The much-vaunted solid-state battery for electric cars is still years away from commercialisation with “a lot of showstoppers” blocking its development, said the head of the Chinese company that dominates the industry.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Robin Zeng, founder and chief executive of CATL, said the much-hyped technology did not work well enough, lacked durability and still had safety problems.
Industry experts believe solid-state batteries, which avoid the liquid electrolyte used in today’s technology, could transform electric cars by enabling greater driving range. Japanese carmaker Toyota has trumpeted its progress, pledging to deliver solid-state batteries as early as 2027.